A journey to search my soul

This is a blog of my personal collections. The purpose of this blog is to educate myself and public in regards to antiquities especially related to religion and calligraphy. I welcome everyone to input their feedback in this blog which they think would be helpful. I do not watermark the photos in this blog so everyone is free to use them as long as they are not used for illegal and unethical reasons. I appreciate if you could notify me if you plan to use any of the photos here. Enjoy browsing!!

Saturday, April 30, 2016

This is a print map dated 1750CE of an occupied once Islamic Sultanate city, Malacca by Portugese.
Malacca used to be a centre of Islamic Sultanate established in the 14th CE and lasted for a centruy before is was occupied by Portugese in 1511CE.
This map was drawn by Jacques Nicques Bellin and part of his travel book titled Prevost d'Exiles.
Now Malacca ( Melaka) is a modern city in Malaysia.

Below what I found from Malacca & Geographia website:

In 1396, a Sumatran prince by the name of Parameswara fled his
country out of fear of the attacking Majapahit Empire. Landing in
Temasek, he killed the local ruler and established himself over the
island that is now known as Singapore. A few years later, he was driven
out by a Thai-controlled army and once again, was left scouting for a
new piece of land.Eventually, he moved up the West Coast of
Malaysia and founded Malacca. Legend says that he was resting under a
tree when he saw a mouse deer kicking his hunting dogs into the river
and they attacked it. Declaring the place to be auspicious, he decided
to set up shop and named the place after the tree he was resting under
Melaka. Eventually, Parameswara converted to Islam in 1414 and
adopted the title of Sultan. Malacca was also growing into one of most important entrepot
hubs for traders from across Asia, notably India, Arabia and China.Unfortunately, this fame arrived at
just the moment when Europe began to extend its power into the East,
and Malacca was one of the very first cities to attract its covetous
eye. The Portuguese under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque arrived
first, taking the city after a sustained bombardment in 1511. The
Sultan fled to Johor, from whence the Malays counterattacked the
Portuguese repeatedly though without success. One reason for the
strength of the Portuguese defense was the construction of the massive
fortification of A Famosa, only a small portion of which survives
today.A Famosa ensured Portuguese control
of the city for the next one hundred and fifty years, until, in 1641,
the Dutch invested Malacca after an eight-month siege and a fierce
battle. Malacca was theirs, but it lay in almost complete ruin. Over
the next century and a half, the Dutch rebuilt the city and employed
it largely as a military base, using its strategic location to control
the Straits of Malacca. In 1795, when the Netherlands was captured
by French Revolutionary armies, Malacca was handed over to the British
to avoid capture by the French. Although they returned the city to
the Dutch in 1808, it was soon given over to the British once again
in a trade for Bencoleen, Sumatra. From 1826, the city was ruled
by the English East India Company in Calcutta, although it experienced
Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945. Independence did not arrive
until 1957, when anti-colonial sentiment culminated in a proclamation
of independence by His Highness Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj,
Malaysia's first Prime Minister.

Friday, April 29, 2016

This is a gold coin from Sultan Ali Riayat Shah era. Sultan Ali original
name is Husain and was the second son of Sultan Aladin Riayat Shah. He reigned Aceh from 1571 - 1579
CE.

Aceh is a state located at the northern end of Sumatra island (
Indonesia). It is also known by its Arabic honorific Darus Salam ( Abode of
Peace) from 1511-1959 CE.Aceh's origins are unquestionably Cham, as the
Champa king Syah Pau Kubah sent his son Syah Pau Ling to rule over Aceh when the
capital Vijaya in 1471 AD, was sacked by the Vietnamese Le Dynasty.The
Sultanate of Aceh was founded in 1511 CE after the fall of Pasai Sultanate by
Sultan Ali Mughayat Shah. It’s presumed that he is the same person as Syah Pau
Ling who converted to Islam.The Sultanate lasted till 1903 when the last
Aceh Sultan Muhammad III Daud Shah Johan Berdaulat surrendered to Dutch
occupation.

This is a papyrus fragment written in Qurra ( Naskh) script in black ink. I couldn't decipher the content of this fragment. It is written in Arabic language and it could be Quranic or just Arabic document.Origin from Egypt and purchased from USA with COA. It is claimed from 8th Century CE based on the paleography and the medium
I don't have much
information of this kind of manuscript and its writing tradition. I need
to do more research on this manuscript and will update this entry
later. I welcome any feedback on this fragment.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

This is one piece of a pair of doors beautifully carved. I purchased this
door from Dubai. According to the seller it originated from one of African Arabic countries.
This door is beautifully carved in floral motives. It has an arabesque arch on the top segment with 2 pair of shutters on the middle and lower segments.
Specification :

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

This is a product of Malay artwork called tekat. It is a gold thread embroidery
practiced by the Malay from Malaysia. These beautiful pieces are sewn
onto both ends of a
bolster ( bantal peluk) as part of the bridal decorations which is
typical in Malay weddings. Traditionally, to have the entire bridal
daise and chamber decoration done in tekat is almost a must. These days,
one doesn't have to worry about creating a tekat arrangement for the
wedding. In Malay wedding, its customary to use the service of "Mak
Andam" or a wedding planner. They have almost complete bridal
decorations arrangement and lend them out for a very reasonable price.
Tekat originally was a court art and gained popularity by the 15th
Century. It was thought that this art originated from Ottoman Empire and
brought into the royal court of the Malay Kingdom by the traders.
Compare with the Ottoman thread embroidery below :Ottoman Embroidery Art

In this sample, the gold thread was stitched in a patterned way over a
piece of of a maroon velvet fabric. Motifs of foliage and floral were
used as Islam prohibits using animal motifs. I believed these samples
from early 20th Century CE.

This is a another rare tampang coin from Bendahara Sewa Raja Wan Ahmad . However in
1882 CE he was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Pahang claiming the
title Sultan Wan Ahmad AL Muazzam Shah.He used to be Bendahara from
1863-1881AD.
This coin was struck in 1295 AH ( 1878 CE)

Pahang is one of the states in Malaysia. Historically it became part of
Malacca Sultanate in 1470 CE till 1641 CE. It was later ruled by Johor
Sultanate till 1853 CE then it became independent.

Below is the location of Pahang in relation to other states in Malaysia.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

These are 2 Malay artworks called tekat. It is a silver or gold thread embroidery
practiced by the Malay from Malaysia. These beautiful pieces are sewn
onto both ends of a
bolster ( bantal peluk) as part of the bridal decorations which is
typical in Malay weddings. Traditionally, to have the entire bridal
daise and chamber decoration done in tekat is almost a must. These days,
one doesn't have to worry about creating a tekat arrangement for the
wedding. In Malay wedding, its customary to use the service of "Mak
Andam" or a wedding planner. They have almost complete bridal
decorations arrangement and lend them out for a very reasonable price.
Tekat originally was a court art and gained popularity by the 15th
Century. It was thought that this art originated from Ottoman Empire and
brought into the royal court of the Malay Kingdom by the traders.
Compare with the Ottoman thread embroidery below :Ottoman Embroidery Art

In this sample, the silver thread was stitched in a patterned way over a
piece of of a black velvet fabric. Motifs of foliage and floral were
used as Islam prohibits using animal motifs. I believed these samples
from early 20th Century CE.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

This is a brass pot which I purchased from UAE. Eventhough the seller claimed it's from there however I suspected the origin is from India. There is a mill mark at the bottom of the pot which I couldnt decipher.

This is a lithographed Judaism book, Thora Tom. II. Printed in Hebrew language. I bought this book in Istanbul.This Torah was used by Jewish community in Turkey. Covers made of textile
wrapped around hard boards though the spine is made of leather. This book is pocket size of 120mm
x100mm.This book is dated 1846 CE and was printed in Vienna.

Friday, April 8, 2016

This is a coin from the era of King Ferdinand & Isabella reigning Spain from 1469 - 1504 CE.
These are infamous royal couple who drove Muslim out of Spain in the 15th Century.

Below is an excerpt from Al-Islam on the fall of the last stronghold of Andalusia in Spain:

1491
is the date for the Castilian and Aragonese seizure of Granada, on the
2nd of January, ten months before Christopher Columbus "discovered"
America (or was it the Bahamas, and the Caribbean coast) certainly not
the United States as we know them today). Much water has flowed under
our bridges since then and into the broad Atlantic that Columbus and his
three ships crossed that same year.The city and kingdom of Granada in south-eastern Spain represented
Islam's last stronghold on the Iberian peninsula. Washington Irving (no
kin of mine, but an excellent writer) during his service of the United
States legation in Madrid, interested himself in this period of Spanish
history, and rescued the Alhambra from the horde of gypsies he found
encamped there. Then in Lindaraja, the beautiful two‑windowed room
overlooking the courtyard and city, he wrote his Tales from the Alhambra and went on to chronicle that fascinating period in Spanish history. He also wrote an excellent biography or Sirah of the Prophet that we should rescue today from the strange spellings of that early age of Orientalism.The Treaty of Granada, which had been drawn up in the previous year,
1491, between representatives of the crowns of Castile, Aragon and
Granada, conceded this last city and its kingdom to Castile. In this
treaty, the Granadines were guaranteed their religious liberty. The
Philadelphia Quaker Henry Lea has written on the subsequent history when
that solemn treaty was broken by a Catholic churchman, Cardinal
Francisco Xhnenez de Cisneros.At the end of the 15th century, the five kingdoms of the Iberian
peninsula, or what we now call Spain and Portugal, were: Castile,
Aragon, Granada, Navarre and Portugal. Aragon actually had three capital
cities, two of which, Valencia, and Zaragoza, were known for their
active Muslim citizenry. Barcelona in Catalonia, was not so famous,
although it is named after Hannibal's uncle Hamilcar Barca and his
family, another Semitic influence that left this place name on the
Peninsula. Navarre, south of the Pyrenees, was taken by Ferdinand of
Aragon in 1512.1610 and not 1492 should be our cut‑off date for Muslim power in
Spain, even though that last century and a quarter saw Islam in clear
decline, fighting a losing, rearguard action. We need rather to follow
the fate of the remaining Spanish Muslims, not only in the defeated
king­dom of Granada, but also in Castile, Aragon and Valencia, where
talented and industrious Mudejar artisans were active.

Below is an excerpt from Forum Ancient Coin about these king and QueenFerdinand and Isabella
Ferdinand V, called The Catholic (1452-1516), King of Castile
(1474-1504); as Ferdinand II he was also King of Sicily (1468-1516) and
of Aragón (1479-1516); as Ferdinand III, King of Naples (1504-1516). He
was the son of King John II of Aragón.

Isabella I (1451-1504), Queen of Castile, called la Católica ("the
Catholic"). She was the daughter of John II of Castile and León by his
second wife, Isabella of Portugal.

The union of the Spanish kingdoms of Aragón and Castile was effected in
1469 by Ferdinand's marriage to his cousin Isabella I, Queen of Castile.
Ferdinand had hoped by this alliance to obtain the Castilian crown for
himself, but his high-spirited and politically astute wife firmly
retained sovereign authority in her own realm.

Ferdinand and Isabella took steps to curb the power of the nobles,
organising the Santa Hermandad, or Holy Brotherhood, a kind of national
military police. Insistence on religious conformity was one of their
basic policies. In 1478 a bull issued by Pope Sixtus IV empowered the
king and queen to appoint three inquisitors to deal with heretics and
other offenders against the church; this marked the beginning of the
Spanish Inquisition.

The year 1492 opened with the conquest of Granada, which marked the
victorious conclusion of the long struggle against the Moors. In August
Christopher Columbus, sponsored by Ferdinand and Isabella, set sail from
the small Spanish seaport of Palos on his epoch-making voyage to
America, which was the first step in the creation of the Spanish
overseas colonial empire. In 1493, by the terms of a treaty between
Spain and France, Ferdinand recovered from King Charles VIII of France
the ancient province of Roussillon (now forming the French department of
the Pyrénées-Orientales), which Ferdinand's father had mortgaged to
King Louis XI of France.

Because his daughter Joanna the Mad became insane after the death of
Isabella in 1504, Ferdinand assumed the regency of Castile in 1506. He
joined the League of Cambrai against the republic of Venice in 1508, and
conquered Oran and Tripoli on the North African coast in 1509. He
annexed the kingdom of Navarre in 1512, thereby extending the borders of
Spain from the Pyrenees to the Rock of Gibraltar. Ferdinand was in many
ways a competent ruler. He was succeeded by his grandson Charles (Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V).

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

This is an amulet or gris-gris from Africa contains series of squares
& numbers based on Quranic verses. This manuscript has each magical
square representing each surah in the Quran ( total 114 Surah). It is originated from Niger Africa of Tuareg ethnic. The Tuareg, are a nomadic culture of Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali. The pouch is 7" by 5" in dimension and weighs 74gm.

I really
dont know what is the purpose of this amulet and what can this amulet
do. But from the Wiki, below is the excerpt :

"A gris-gris is formed in
a small, leather pouch which is usually etched with verses from the Qur'an. Inside the
pouch are engravings specially tailored to the wearer. The pouch is then
sprinkled with blessed water while an incantation is recited.The ceremony
is traditionally conducted over an altar with a burning candle being
present.The ingredients
of the gris-gris number one, three, five, seven, nine or thirteen.Sometimes
stones and other items with occult-meanings are added to the pouch. There will
often be a doll symbolising the wearer also attached to the pouch."

The amulet is sealed however I believed it contains similar amulet as in my other amulet in previous entry below :

This is a modesty disc or known as Caping or Chaping originated from Sulawesi Island of Bugis tribe. It is
worn to cover a boy or a girl private part especially a toddler.Its
widely used in the past by Muslim Bugis children. Caping is made either from gold, silver or brass depending
on the children family social status. The usage of caping is believed to
spiritually guard the child from evil spirits and harmful forces.

This modesty disc/plate is believed originated from Hindu influence from
India. Sri Vijaya & Majapahit are ancient Hindu empires controlling
South East Asia from 7th -14th Century CE.
However there is a record that this pubic cover is also widely used in
other part of the world and by a female adult. In South America it is
called "Tanga", made of ceramic. The cover used by the aboriginal in
Australiamade of pearlshell and is called riji, jakuli or longkalongka.

Compare this Caping with my other Caping from Malaysia at :Malay Caping
The caping in my possession is made of silver and believed from 19th century CE.
Measured at 3 in x 3 in

"Capings
are heart-shaped plates that were used by Malays as a substitute for
clothing and were worn suspended by chains mostly by infants girls and sometimes
by small boys. They tended to be made from different materials
according to the ranks of the wearers. Gold was reserved for the
nobility, silver for dignitaries, and plates made of brass, copper or coconut shell for commoners. Babies tended to wear capings once they could stand, something that was often accompanied by a simple ceremony." ( Ref: Kassim Haji Ali, M., Caping: Modesty Disc, Museum Association of Malaysia, 1983.)